No. 10 Kentucky Wildcats – 32 points (last week 35 points)
There is an easy summary for this game. The Wildcats need a quarterback. While Mississippi State’s Garrett Schrader was running and throwing for over 300 yards, Kentucky’s Sawyer Smith had a QB rating of 35.1. Smith failed to complete 26 of his 41 passes.
Mark Stoops deserves all the credit he has received for building the Kentucky football program. The defensive oriented coach must have been miserable Saturday as Schrader and Bulldogs’ running back, Kylin Hill averaged over six yards-per-carry in running up 225 yards.
Now the Wildcats must travel to Columbia, SC with the Gamecocks in a must-win situation.
No. 11 Ole Miss – 25 points (last week 22 points)
Did y’all catch that Ole Miss-Cal ending this Saturday? Some tip-top clock “management” from head coaches Matt Luke, Rich Rod and Mike McIntyre helped the Rebels snag defeat from the jaws of possible victory. Ole Miss is such a weird and intriguing mess right now and I don’t know how to make heads or tails of it. The offense definitely found a rhythm with OC Rodriguez, putting up over 500 total yards up against a stifling Golden Bears defense, but the lack of points still seems to be the major thorn.
All credit must be given to McIntyre, though, as the Ole Miss defense has improved by leaps and bounds in comparison to the last two seasons. The Rebels held Cal to only 60 yards on the ground, which was unheard of at this point last season. This experiment with Rodriguez and McIntyre is still a major gamble and I’m convinced that it won’t work out in the end, but despite the 2-2 record, they do look better than they did following the Memphis game.
The Rebels travel to Tuscaloosa to take on Alabama football this Saturday.